What have you done to your Mazda5 today?

Installed some LED headlight bulbs in my Mazda5 today. The install was easy. My previous bulbs were some sylvania silverstars which performed well. The LED bulbs provide a whiter light

On these pictures the led bulbs are on the drivers side and the halogen bulb is on the passenger.
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That IS looking pretty good!
 
I was not impressed by the LED headlight bulbs I reviewed a few months ago. They perform poorly compared to the H11 halogen bulbs the lamp was designed for, and are definitely NOT safe or legal for use. They simply do not illuminate down the road like a headlight should. The BULB output may be XXXX Lumens, and comparable to the lumens that a halogen bulb puts out, but the beam pattern is very poor and does not illuminate the proper areas of the road. Specifically they have very poor reach (distance illumination), possibly the key component of what a headlight should be able to do. Before my current QC job, I evaluated and designed lighting systems for automotive OEMs, so I like to think I know what I'm talking about on this topic.

See my static review here:
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123842978-Static-review-White-wall-amp-lux-comparison-LED-H11-LL-H11-100-H9

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I'm updating my dynamic review and will post shortly.

In short, the LED headlight bulbs look good at first glance when viewing on a white wall. But take a closer look - all that "extra" light you see is in places where you don't want or need it. The H11 bulb that the headlight is designed for creates a hotspot that throws light down the road where you need it - this is how a headlight is supposed to work. The LED bulb throws light everywhere, but not down the road where you need it. Review the pic posted above:
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It looks like the LED is producing a lot of light, but look where it is in the beam pattern - it is smooth from top to bottom. The bottom of the beam pattern is going to wind up illuminating the road 10 feet in front of the car - you don't want or need a lot of light there. You want light down the road far in front of you (and to the sides to see signage and pedestrians, but the main illumination is downroad). Now look at the H11 beam - it has a hot spot at the top of the beam pattern, and this is the light that is going to illuminate the road as far in front of you as possible. When you put the car on a road with those LEDs, you will have a lot of light immediately in front of the car, (which is bad: it fatigues your eyes by being "too bright" in front of the car, and it dominates your vision, causing you to look immediately in front of the car instead of downroad where you need to look) which initially gives the impression that they are bright, but then when you look down the road, they are not projecting any light out in front of the car.
 
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We've covered LED headlights extensively here. Theres a long thread on it and the verdict is the beam pattern sucks.
 
Dealt with my first P0455 debacle. I had to reset the PCM and now hoping my wife doesn't get the CEL back on her road trip she just left on.
 
Clayed the body last weekend, and the finish is smooth as glass now. (Amazing what even a new car has stuck on the finish.) Going to wax it this weekend.

Found a very old can of Turtle Wax Excalibur Concours wax in the garage and waxed the car. Wow, this is the best that this car will ever look. I can't stop touching it.

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Repainted the wheels (plasti-dip), painted the Mazda logo, debagged the hatch, gave it a wash, and loaded it up with my camera gear. Heading to Leguna Seca for the Miata 25th anniversary bash and ND reveal (breakn)



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Track Day! Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
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A very fun experience and she handled great. I had a very positive reaction at the track and the instructors that rode with me loved it. I definitely was one of the slower vehicles on the straights but in the turns I was catching people. Now I am getting serious about more power.
 
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